Johann Adam Berner

Organ in Sillenstede

Johann Adam Berner (baptized on 3. March 1723 in Osnabrück ; † 18th May 1768 in Jever ) was an organ builder of the late Baroque .

Life

Berner came from a well-known family of organs from Osnabrück. His father of the same name (1693 - approx. 1735) ran an organ building workshop there, where the young Bernese learned his trade. When he received the order for a large new building in the Jever town church, he and his workshop moved there. In Asel , he married the stepdaughter Elisabeth of the East Frisian organ builder Johann Friedrich Constabel on September 24, 1754 . Elisabeth came from the first marriage of Constabel's wife Anke Jürgens. There were constant complaints about incomplete construction projects, which led to legal disputes. When Berner was unable to support his father-in-law in the Lambertikirche Aurich (1755–1760) due to lack of time, he sent his brother Ernst. All of this leads to the conclusion that Berner was too ambitious in his plans. Despite the help of his journeyman Johann Caspar Struve, Constabel in Aurich was obviously overwhelmed and could not have completed the project successfully without Berner. Berner died of typhus in 1768 at the age of 45 .

plant

His first collaboration is recorded on the organs in Minden and in the Stiftskirche Fischbeck (1734–1736). The organ in Fischbeck had 27 registers , two manuals and an independent pedal . Today only the splendid original prospectus remains . Berner's first own and at the same time his largest new building project was a large three-manual organ in Jever . It was built between 1750 and 1756, but in 1959 it fell victim to a fire along with the church. In 1752, Berner signed a contract with the parish in Sillenstede for a new building. This lasted until 1757, but was finally carried out to everyone's satisfaction. The instrument had nine registers in the main work, five registers in the breastwork and an attached pedal. After renovations in the 19th century, the Alfred Führer company added an independent pedal from 1934–1936 and reversed some of these renovation measures (though partly in the neo-baroque style ). A thorough renovation (1993–1994) by the same company largely restored the original sound. Eleven registers are still original. In 1757 the organ in Weene was repaired . 1758–59, Berner carried out another new building (without pedal) in Pogum . Of the six registers, three are still old. The impending surrender of the tin-containing prospectus pipes in 1917 could be averted by delivering the trumpet beakers instead. Around 1761, Berner and his father-in-law rebuilt the organ in Osteel . The expansion of the keyboard range of the Renaissance instrument from FGA – g ² a ² to CD – c ³ entailed a renewal of the wind chest and the action . Individual registers have also been skillfully revised by Berner using old material. In the same 1761 year, a renovation of the organ in Marienhafe by Berners is documented. In his preserved organs, the division of the prospectus fields, the splendid carving and the type of profile wreaths testify to Berner's Westphalian character, which is based on Christian Klausing and is also reflected in Hinrich Just Müller .

List of works

year	place	church	image	Manuals	register	Remarks
1734-36	Fischbeck	Fischbeck Collegiate Church		II / P	27	Berner as an employee (also already in Minden ); only received prospectus
1750-56	Jever	City Church		III / P	42	New building; Burned in 1959
1752-57	Sillenstede	St. Florian Church		II / p	14th	1936 extended to II / P / 21; 11 original registers are preserved
1757	Weene	Nikolaikirche		I / p	11	Repair of the organ by Valentin Ulrich Grotian
1758-59	Pogum	Pogum Church		I.	6th	New building; Housing and three original registers preserved
around 1761	Osteel	Warnfried Church		II / p	13	Reconstruction of the → organ by Edo Evers (1619)
1761	Marienhafe	Marienkirche		II / p	20th	Renovation of the → organ by Gerhard von Holy (1713)

Sound carrier

• Johann Adam - Bern organ 1757 . MIA. 2007. EAN 4260138850076. (Florian Wilkes: Works by JS Bach and JP Sweelinck).
• Organ portrait Johann-Adam-Berner-Organ Sillenstede . (Ingrid Sturm)

literature

• Walter Kaufmann : The organs of East Frisia . East Frisian Landscape, Aurich 1968.
• Harald Vogel , Günter Lade, Nicola Borger-Keweloh: Organs in Lower Saxony . Hauschild Verlag , Bremen 1997, ISBN 3-931785-50-5 .
• Harald Vogel, Reinhard Ruge, Robert Noah, Martin Stromann: Organ landscape Ostfriesland . 2nd Edition. Soltau-Kurier-Norden, Norden 1997, ISBN 3-928327-19-4 .
• Renate Oldermann: The history of the organ in the Fischbeck collegiate church . In: Acta Organologica . No. 27 , 2001, p. 109-124 .
• Henning M. Schoon: 250 years of Johann Adam Berner organ: 1757-2007 . Self-published, Sillenstede 2007.

Web links

Commons : Johann Adam Berner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Concerts on the Johann Adam Berner organ in Sillenstede

Individual evidence

1. ^ Walter Hans Kaufmann: The organs of East Frisia . East Frisian Landscape, Aurich 1968, p. 44 .
2. ↑ organ history Sillenstede , accessed on 30 April 2020th
3. ↑ Ralph Nickles: Organ inventory of the Krummhörn and the city of Emden . Hauschild Verlag, Bremen 1995, ISBN 3-929902-62-1 , p. 50 .